Unfortunately, as a result of heightened life pressures, mental health issues and their diagnosis rates have also increased over recent years. Here we discuss some tips on how to deal with stress and anxiety.
It’s found that 1 in every 4 people will experience symptoms of mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety and PTSD at some point in their life.
Down to increased rates of mental health issues, down to their normalisation and down to their image of being part and parcel of life, their presence, their severity and their recovery are downplayed, especially when considering stress.
Yet, no matter how harmless stress may seem, no matter how easily manageable anxiety may be perceived, and no matter how normalised psychological struggles are, diagnoses should be taken seriously.
Mental health issues, linked to addiction and suicide are one of the leading causes of death, especially in younger generations. Down to this, it is important that support is offered, and that self-management is strived for, to reduce the impact that the likes of stress and anxiety can have on the body and mind.
Here are some self-help tips for dealing with stress and anxiety, along with further mental health issues, to support yourself or someone you care about through the turbulent diagnosis of a mental health condition.
Please remember that the stigma attached to mental health issues is incorrect and unrealistic. Help is available, which we provide here at Asana Lodge, guiding you to see beyond the results of stress and anxiety.
Stress and anxiety as mental health issues
A degree of stress is healthy for the body. This is also the case when considering symptoms of anxiety and nerves. Once our body enters the fight or flight stage, we require that energy to feed our decision.
For the average person, that energy will then be digested and will reduce over time, once a stressful or anxious period has subsidised.
However, for some individuals, those heightened feelings of energy will remain, where symptoms of stress and anxiety are consistently experienced. Initially, extra adrenaline can act as a motivator, as a driving force through those stressors.
However, over time, heightened stress and anxiety can lead to burnout, along with habitual mental health weaknesses, affecting behaviours, actions and outlooks.
Stress is commonly downplayed as a negative experience, as the reality of life is stressful, from money worries, to arguments, to hectic schedules.
However, as a nation, we’ve become accustomed to stress, which if experienced chronically can significantly reduce our quality of life and health.
Anxiety has also become a normalised emotion, as more individuals experience unpredictable and uncontrollable emotions. However, anxiety again can lead to physical and psychological health problems, along with the use of unhealthy coping strategies.
All in all, stress and anxiety are categorised as mental health issues, which should be dealt with and managed if their presence is consuming realities.
If you’re struggling, it’s important to understand the vitality of reaching out for support, along with some self-help tips for dealing with stress and anxiety.
The importance of working through mental health issues
If enabled, stress and anxiety can lead to life-threatening consequences. Cardiovascular issues are a significant concern, linked to high blood pressure, mental health conditions are a considerable worry, linked to the side effects of stress on the mind, and the likelihood of addictive behaviours are a large apprehension, down to the use of drugs and alcohol as coping strategies.
Both stress and anxiety are mental health issues. They can materialise, if uncontrolled, into physical and psychological health problems which deter usual functionality and existence.
Initially, both conditions may be manageable and may reflect side effects which many of us have become accustomed to. However, long-term stress and anxiety can become dangerous, for some, an irreversible result.
This is why it’s important that if you’re struggling with your mental health, that you understand your trigger, that you work to adapt your lifestyle to suppress that trigger, and that you consider professional support.
Self-help tips for dealing with stress and anxiety
Dealing with stress and anxiety independently may seem like a significant ask, especially down to their complex and unpredictable characteristics as conditions.
However, alongside professional support, you can consider dealing with stress and anxiety at home, through healthy and proactive management.
Here are some tips to deal with feeling stressed and anxious, which may seem small or pointless currently, yet combined will be highly impactful.
Aim for consistent physical activity
Physical movement produces happy chemicals in the body, such as endorphins, which communicate to the brain that you’re feeling happy and positive.
A consistent schedule of physical activity can help to suppress feelings of stress and anxiety. It can also be used as a coping strategy in the moment of a mental health crisis, to reduce the severity of side effects.
Control your nutrition
Your nutrition will control your internal and external health. What you put into your body will impact the way that you feel and the levels of energy that you have. Aiming for a balanced diet will ensure that you’re consuming optimal levels of vitamins and minerals to lead a quality lifestyle.
Avoid drugs and alcohol
Drugs and alcohol can trigger stress and anxiety, even if exposure is low. You should aim to avoid the abuse of drugs and alcohol to maintain clarity and a rational outlook on life.
It’s also important to remember that substance abuse, for the long-term, can develop into a dual diagnosis, which will require even greater intervention around stress and anxiety diagnoses.
Aim for adequate sleep
It’s understandable if you’re currently struggling to experience a good night sleep. However, the rest that you experience can re-energise and restore the efforts of your body and brain. One of our self-help tips for dealing with stress and anxiety therefore recommends that you aim for adequate sleep.
Promote work-life balance
You need a balance in life, in order to control your degree of stress. Through promoting work-life balance, you can place focus on your lifestyle, ensuring that your triggers can be reduced and that your wellbeing can be prioritised.
Feel mindful and grounded
This isn’t for everyone, yet it is found to reduce the symptoms of stress and anxiety by offering clarity and perspective. Through practising mindfulness, you can feel grounded, aware and in control of your thoughts and actions.
Keep in touch with your emotions
You, more than anyone will understand your emotions. Keep in touch with them and understand their materialisation, recommended to monitor and suppress triggers of stress and anxiety.
By keeping in the know, you’ll also recognise when professional support is required to work through feeling stressed and anxious.
Stress and anxiety can impact every person differently, can materialise in diverse ways, and can result in varying consequences if enabled.
However, averagely, they can turn into life-changing mental health issues, while manageable, can still be difficult to work through.
Help yourself through difficult times by utilising our self-help tips for dealing with stress and anxiety, along with seeing the necessity for support.
While we may have become accustomed to stress and anxiety, we shouldn’t stand for the negative results of heightened worry, nerves and pressure.
Reach out for our support at Asana Lodge to understand your triggers of stress and anxiety.
Sources
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/publications/how-manage-and-reduce-stress
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